Volleyball Travels To Mercer For Bear Brawl - AuburnTigers.com - Auburn University Official Athletic Site

Volleyball Travels To Mercer For Bear Brawl Tigers open play at 10 a.m., Friday vs. Bethune-Cookman

Head Coach Wade Benson

Sept. 4, 2008

AUBURN - The Auburn volleyball team (0-4) returns to action this weekend as the Tigers travel to Macon, Ga., to play in Mercer's Bear Brawl. Auburn will take on Bethune-Cookman, Presbyterian and Georgia Southern at the two-day tournament.

Action for the Tigers begins at 10 a.m. CT, Friday against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member Bethune-Cookman (0-3). Auburn returns to the court at 4 p.m. CT against Presbyterian, who is playing their first season as part of the Big South Conference.

AU wraps up the weekend with a 12 p.m. CT match against Southland member Georgia Southern on Saturday.

For first-year head coach Wade Benson, this weekend provides another opportunity for his young team to gain some experience.

"I feel like the more that we play, the better we are going to get," said Benson. "This weekend is just another opportunity for us to get better. For us, it is not about the teams that we are playing, it is more about our own performance."

Leading a 16-player squad that is made up of 13 freshmen and sophomores, Benson has used Auburn's four previous matches to get everyone involved and try out different lineups. The Tigers have utilized four different starting lineups, made up of 12 different players. Nine of the 12 players used in those lineups have been either freshmen or sophomores, making more match experience a crucial part of the team's development.

"It is all about getting experience for us, the all-important experience," said Benson. "More match situations is what needs to happen for us to improve. We are seeing some different things right now, trying out some different things and by the time SEC play comes around, we should be more comfortable in where we are as a team."

Auburn is coming off a 0-3 opening weekend at the War Eagle Invitational, losing to Samford (3-0), Mercer (3-1) and New Orleans (3-0). The Tigers nearly pulled out their first win of the season on Tuesday, falling to Jacksonville State, 15-13, in the fifth set for a 3-2 loss.